2012 Buyer’s Guide: Enthusiast Bikes

Felt F4 - $3,200

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The F4 is a bike you can grow with. By spec’ing lower-cost parts, Felt delivered an affordable, complete bike with the same frame as the F2 model—a high-performance, 912-gram (claimed) carbon-fiber chassis. Felt redesigned the F series for 2011, using lessons the company learned during its multi­year partnership with the Garmin-Slipstream pro team. The bikes are lighter and stiffer, and include integrated parts such as a BB30 bottom bracket, tapered steerer tube, and molded-carbon dropouts. The F4 delivers highly efficient power transfer. Despite the stiff chassis, ride quality has also improved over early bikes in the F series. The tapered seat tube and 27.2mm post provide a hint of flex, making the F4 more comfortable on long rides than some similar models, including the Bianchi Sempre.